Use of Body Worn Video

The request was successful.

Dear Durham County Council,

I am writing to make an open government request for all the
information to which I am entitled under the Freedom of Information
Act 2000.

Please send me:

The details of your use of body cameras in your organisation –

Does anyone (staff or contractors) in your organisation use/wear body cameras or body worn video recording devices while performing their duties?
If yes, please detail:
Who provides the body cameras and footage/evidence management used by your organisation?
How many staff members use body cameras and what capacities/teams do they work in? Are they staff or contractors (for e.g. outsourced security personnel)
How many body cameras in all are currently owned and/or used by your organisation?
Were the cameras bought as a one off purchase and if so, how much did they cost your organisation?
If they are part of an ongoing contract - what is the current contract term (how long is it and when does it expire) and what is the value of said contract?
Where is the data recorded stored – on premises locally or on cloud?
Who is the point of contact for your body camera programme?

I would like the above information to be provided to me via email.

If this request is too wide or unclear, I would be grateful if you
could contact me as I understand that under the Act, you are
required to advise and assist requesters. If any of this
information is already in the public domain, please can you direct
me to it, with page references and URLs if necessary.

If the release of any of this information is prohibited on the
grounds of breach of confidence, I ask that you supply me with
copies of the confidentiality agreement and remind you that
information should not be treated as confidential if such an
agreement has not been signed.

I understand that you are required to respond to my request within
the 20 working days after you receive this letter.

I would be grateful if you could confirm that you have received
this request, preferably via email.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours faithfully,

Lucy Johnson

Freedom of Information,

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION

 

This letter is our acknowledgement of your request received 07-JAN-2018. 
Please note the reference number in the subject line of this email and
refer to it in any future correspondence. The case officer dealing with
your request is:

 

Lawrence Serewicz Tel. 03000 268038

 

Depending on the type of request, it will be handled under the Freedom of
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and assistance to applicants.  When we ask to clarify your request, the 20
working day countdown stops until we hear back from you. If you have not
contacted us about the request within 30 days, we will close it.

 

Please note that your request and our response will be put on the
Council’s disclosure log.  What this means is that we keep a log of all
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it will be done in accordance with the Data Protection Act (DPA).

 

If you have any questions or need further information, then please
contact:

 

The Information Management Team

Durham County Council

Assistant Chief Executive’s Office

Room 4/143-148

County Hall

Durham

DH1 5UF

Tel. 03000 268035

Email: [1][Durham County Council request email]

 

Further information is also available from the Information Commissioner
at:

Information Commissioner's Office

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire

SK9 5AF

Telephone: 01625 545 745

Fax: 01625 524 510

Email: [2][email address]

[3]www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk

 

Yours sincerely,

 

The Information Management Team

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Freedom of Information,

1 Attachment

Dear Lucy Johnson,

Please find attached our response to your request for information. If you
have any further questions, please contact the Information Management Team
at [Durham County Council request email]

Yours sincerely,

Lawrence Serewicz

Lawrence Serewicz
Information and Records Manager
Transformation and Partnerships
Durham County Council
County Hall
Room 143-148 4th Floor
Durham
County Durham
DH1 5UF
Direct 03000 268 038 
Switchboard 03000 26 0000
www.durham.gov.uk
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Roger Cornwell left an annotation ()

The Council's reply is incomplete, since their Civil Enforcement Officers, who enforce parking regulations and are employed by the Council contractor NTL, wear body cameras. The 2015/16 annual report on civil parking enforcement says on page 11:
Violence against CEOs
In 2015/16, there were four recorded ‘code red’ violent incidents compared to 11 incidents in 2014/15.
Three incidents resulted in police cautions with one offender ordered to pay a fine of £450 by the Magistrates Court.
In order to deter such incidents CEOs wear body cameras with footage used as evidence to convict those who threaten or assault them.

The link for this report is https://www.durham.gov.uk/media/13632/Ci...